Government agencies you can still trust/respect?

What government agencies do you still respect out of all the .... Well, I honestly don't know how many there are but it seems there's more than what we can afford. So what government agency do you still have respect for?

I for one still strongly respect and support NASA. While there are certainly those around here that don't believe in the moon landing, and that NASA is covering up aliens, I believe that NASA does what they can at their best of their ability. It was only under the Obama administration that they became dull and almost worthless because their budget would always get cut. The moment they created a plan to fit within their new budget, Obama would say that they are taking away more money and so on and so on. At this point they are spending too much time trying to balance their budget and less about space innovation, research, and exploration.

NASA is, or at least was the most profitable government entity, returning more than what they made. I forget the exact amount but it was about $1 for every 50c they would use. That's pretty incredible, but looking around your household, there's a lot of NASA tech so that's no surprise. Somehow the concept of going back to the moon became a political disaster for the right-wing politicians.

I do still believe in NASA, but they can no longer do what they do best due to budget restrictions and they certainly do spend their money well for what they are. I respect all of the astronauts and astronaut candidates out there because it's no easy task to say seriously that you're willing to risk your life by strapping yourself to a rocket and exposing yourself to radiation in the name of science.

At any rate, that's the agency that I still trust/respect. As for something they do that's incredibly scandalous/conspiracy related, I'm pretty sure it would have to do with the hire-ups because they manage the funding if you know what I mean.

What about you, ATS?

reply to post by Em2013


Sorry I did not read your full post. But NASA is the government organization you still respect??? WHY!!?? I don't get it. of all the the government organizations that have lied to us. There rank very high on that list.

What NASA!!??

I thought you were gonna say the DMV or something like that.

I know there are good people in NASA who are passionate about space exploration but there disinfo and lies are pretty high up there.

reply to post by Em2013


I will have to think long and hard on that one, but only because there are so many agencies. Off the git go I would say I don't trust a one.

But I do respect those within those agencies who actually do their jobs in a ethical and honest manner. But for every one of them we have one or two or more yabooheads who use and abuse their position and negate any good that is being done. That alone tells me we could use smaller government.

Big bad shame that NASA keeps getting punched in the wallet with budget cuts.

The technology discovered and designed thanks to the space program is simply staggering and impossible to really calculate.

WHY on earth would the USA reduce funding something thats proved over 50 years to be so inspirational, valuable and rewarding!

By the way NASAs current budgets are something like 0.5% of the total gdp. Dont ask what the military gets it will just make you sad and since we dont even know what CIA/NSA/black budget cost the US. But i can tell you its quite a few 0.5%'s

Agency's left to trust? Considering how they all interact with each other these days, i would think that the distrust has spread to all by now.

American-philosopher
reply to post by Em2013

 

Sorry I did not read your full post. But NASA is the government organization you still respect??? WHY!!?? I don't get it. of all the the government organizations that have lied to us. There rank very high on that list.

What NASA!!??

I thought you were gonna say the DMV or something like that.

I know there are good people in NASA who are passionate about space exploration but there disinfo and lies are pretty high up there.

Why don't you read my full post then. I did you the favor of reading your whole post. I explained it entirely so go back and read.

reply to post by American-philosopher

I know there are good people in NASA who are passionate about space exploration but there disinfo and lies are pretty high up there.

Actually the Space program has been shut down. The end of the US space shuttle program

...The successful completion of the 33rd flight of the space shuttle Atlantis, which landed at Cape Canaveral July 20, marked the end of the US space shuttle program and the beginning of a lengthy hiatus in manned space efforts. The American manned space program is shutting down indefinitely....

The three remaining shuttles will become, literally, museum pieces, with Discovery at the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy Center near Dulles Airport outside Washington, Endeavour at the California Science Center in Los Angeles and Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For at least five or six years, and likely much longer, the only proven capability for putting astronauts in Earth orbit will be the Soyuz, based on technology even older than the space shuttle, which was designed and developed in the 1970s...

The suspension of US manned space flights is unprecedented...

Now, however, nine thousand experienced engineers, scientists, and skilled production workers, are being laid off indefinitely. Some 1,500 workers at the Kennedy Space Center worked their final day on Friday, July 22, only two days after the final landing of Atlantis. Many of them, veterans of as much as 30 years of work on the space shuttle program, will never work again in their profession. And they cannot be easily replaced....

So what is NASA doing now? Wh ite House, NASA, Defend Comments About NASA Outreach to Muslim World

...A few days ago, in Cairo, Bolden told Al Jazeera that when he became the NASA administrator, President Obama charged him with three things:

"One, he wanted me to help re-inspire children to want to get into science and math;

he wanted me to expand our international relationships; and third,

and perhaps foremost, he wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science and engineering....

As someone who grew up devouring Science Fiction, who saw the First Walk on the moon and whose University was proud to have one of the first astronauts as an Alumni, this sickens me.

I find most if not ALL Government agencies with the exception of the Department of Defense useless.

The Treasury Department has been superseded by the FED and is therefore also completely useless. The US government completely lost control in 1954. See A PRIMER ON MONEY. SUBCOMMITTEE ON DOMESTIC FINANCE. COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Too many agencies, to consider, man is there ever a boatload of them!

Skimming through the alphabetical listing of government agencies on the governments website, I got to "Coast Guard", in the C listings.

Maybe the Coast Guard, not certain though.

reply to post by crimvelvet


You are absolutely right. Bring back NASA as how it was before Obama's bad touch. I had completely forgotten about this, I can't believe that has slipped my mind and I call myself a space fanatic. :/ Must be one of those late nights...

reply to post by crimvelvet


"Department of Defense"

I liked that organization better when they were called the "Department of War"
Orwellian doublespeak annoys me.

For me it would have to be the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).
they are probably the only thing holding back ultra powerful / greedy corporations from creating a toxic wasteland like China.

The IRS audited me and said I owed $16k. After sharting, I went back through my turbo tax calculations and my revised numbers said they owed me $300.

So I sent them the revised numbers and a check for $50. They sent me a check for $350 and I didn't hear anymore about it. Maybe I'll get screwed at some point, but on this occasion, it was rational and effective.

I had a problem with social security benefits of a relative. I called and spoke with their phone support a couple of times and they were rational, effective and friendly.

Much better than getting support from the cable Co. or the phone Co.

Government workers get a bad rap from corporate shills (like Faux News) and ignorant people that have never actually tried to make it work or don't understand the alternatives. Baseless negativity is a poor replacement for critical engagement.

reply to post by Em2013


This will be a short list.

1. ?
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
5. ?

Craninalbliss
For me it would have to be the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency).
they are probably the only thing holding back ultra powerful / greedy corporations from creating a toxic wasteland like China.

You have to be kidding me!

The EPA once served a purpose, now it is a Mafia Hitman for the large Corporations.

Remember a comment by Sanchojones? That his brother worked for the EPA and he was explicitly told not to touch the big boys but to go after the Mom and Pop businesses?

I have seen similar comments elsewhere.

reply to post by Biigs


Think about it. If we actually got off this planet, how would they control us?

If there were an agency we should be trying to back, it would be NASA. Necessity if the mother of invention. If we really wanted to find the true replacement for fossil fuels ... we'd be trying to figure out how to permanently colonize places like the moon and Mars. We would have to find a viable long-term fuel replacement for our energy needs to make it work.

And for raw resources, space would be an answer. There's lots of raw materials out there if we could just take gumption and guts and get out there to figure it out.

reply to post by InverseLookingGlass

Government workers get a bad rap from corporate shills (like Faux News) and ignorant people that have never actually tried to make it work or don't understand the alternatives. Baseless negativity is a poor replacement for critical engagement.

You were lucky. I am STILL waiting after 25 years for an answer. I spent a year getting shuffled around and stonewalled.....

OH! That is correct you vote Democrat I bet, no luck involved.

At one time I trusted most of them, now, no dern way do I trust anything they say or do. They all ultimately answer to someone and It IS not the people whom pay for it all, but abuse and use the power for personal and political game no matter how they get there. There may be trust somewhere but mine is solid at dead zero, too many reasons to list......

I respect our military but do not think all the fancy overpriced technology they are getting is worth it. They make it possible to retain our way of life. It is some of this super inflated technology that is bankrupting our country, it shoves much of the money in a few large pockets.

I respect the police even though there is some corruption in it. They need to clean out their ranks. The cops shouldn't have nonofficial quotas to fill either. When they haul in a criminal the criminal should get punished also, not released the same day and slapped on the wrist.

I respect the Fish and Wildlife service and also the forestry department even though they do have their problems. The DNR is too tied to supplying the states with revenue to be effective.

NASA....you have to ask.....is everything they do needed. There are other government programs that get a buck return for every fifty cents spent. Jobs supplied by their spending happens in a lot of programs. Three thirty grand a year jobs on road construction spent is better than one NASA job, these are people who work seven months and actually create something that is necessary in society...roads. Their money goes back into the economy and they buy more vehicles at lower prices than NASA workers which creates more jobs. This information about NASA being cost effective is a farce. You need to look at all the facts, not a handpicked few.

Biigs
By the way NASAs current budgets are something like 0.5% of the total gdp. Dont ask what the military gets it will just make you sad

The technology discovered and designed thanks to the military is simply staggering and impossible to really calculate.

* Nuclear power
* GPS
* Internet
* Overhead imagery
* Significant advances in trauma medicine, prosthetics, and (perhaps soon) regeneration
* NASA itself may exist because the military needed to put things in orbit or drop them on other countries
* Various types of shelf-stable food rations

The collateral benefits of military development aren't sexy like men on the Moon, but when a natural disaster strikes someone has to restore communications, get current geospatial intelligence, and deliver relief to the local populace. All that is done with technology that exists because of the military. The military is the only organization that thinks about these kinds of things all the time, and actually follows through with developing and testing them.

and since we dont even know what CIA/NSA/black budget cost the US.

$52.2 billion.

reply to post by rickymouse


Military is necessary.

Police, fire, EMT are all local. I thought this was about Federal. If the Feds are into our local law enforcement, then I don't trust that. Feds should have no part in local law enforcement.

For me, it would be NASA, the FTC and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.